Pirate hunter

A pirate hunter was a sailor (often a former pirate) who, during the 18th century, was employed by local governments and empires to hunt down notorious pirates during the Golden Age of Piracy. Pirate hunters flew crimson sails and had black-and-red hulls, giving them a fearsome image that served to scare many pirates into submission. Many pirate hunters were themselves former pirates who had taken to hunting down their former allies as a means of making money; after King George offered a pardon to all pirates willing to return to England in 1718, many of them decided to enter his service. Famous pirate hunters included Benjamin Hornigold, Josiah Burgess, and John Cockram, and they succeeded in killing captain Howell Davis in Principe, while they repeatedly failed to kill Edward Kenway.